Vikings' hero saved Week 1 in style (and it wasn’t J.J. McCarthy)

The Minnesota Vikings are 1-0 in 2025, and it’s hardly a surprise who’s dominating the morning-after headlines.

J.J. McCarthy spent the first three quarters of Monday night’s NFL debut against the Chicago Bears, force-feeding his doubters some fresh material. He then spent the fourth quarter busting those lazy narratives with an all-time performance, showing poise, leadership, and moxie as Minnesota flipped a 17-6 deficit into a 27-24 win.

McCarthy admirably shook off a pick-six in the third quarter and made his best throws and decisions in crunch time. But while Minnesota’s 22-year-old QB is the top story, he wasn’t the Vikings’ singular hero in a game that easily could have gone the other direction.

Kevin O’Connell says Minnesota Vikings might not have won in Week 1 without LB Eric Wilson

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made veteran linebacker Eric Wilson, the Vikings’ former undrafted free agent who spent the last three seasons in Green Bay, a priority this offseason. It was easy to see why on Monday night.

The Bears were up 11 and driving late in the third quarter when star middle linebacker Blake Cashman injured his hamstring while chasing down a scrambling Caleb Williams.

The next man up was Wilson, who filled Minnesota’s “green dot” role as the player responsible for relaying the play call from defensive coordinator Brian Flores to his teammates on the field.

Wilson not only filled that role for the rest of the game, but he also fueled Minnesota’s fourth-quarter comeback with a blocked punt that led to a critical touchdown and helped put the Vikings up by two scores with 2:53 remaining.

Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson wound up playing 25 snaps on defense and a team-high 29 on special teams. He was PFF’s highest-graded Vikings special-teamer with a 90.3.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke at length about McCarthy’s poise and demeanor throughout Monday’s improbable win. He also made it clear that the final ending wouldn’t have been possible without Wilson’s heroics in multiple phases of the game.

“You’re always looking for that veteran presence. He is a player that… I don’t know if we win the football game unless you have Eric Wilson. Not only the blocked punt, but just the way he goes in and he’s green dottin’ and calling it.

You want to see the prototype of a veteran guy who helps your football team win by any means necessary? It’s Eric Wilson. So, fired up that we have him. Fired up that we were able to bring him back here, and he’s clearly already had a monumental impact.”

It was far from pretty, but this is exactly how Vikings fans expected their team to win games this season.

Minnesota’s wealth of veteran talent shined through and helped carry its young quarterback through some growing pains, and the team will only benefit from that going forward as McCarthy gains more NFL reps.